Physics 122 Sept.

16, 2010

The Physics 121-122 help room (Physics A-131) is

mostly
y staffed byy students. They
y understand the
need to be present when scheduled, but ask for you to
understand that sometimes they are held late at
another class
class, etc
etc.

If you find no TA in the help room during a time when

it is scheduled,
s h d l d llook
kffor me iin my office
ffi (B(B-134).
134) I
hope to be able to help you immediately. If I’m not
there, send an email.

Question 1:
Distribution of scores for HW #16.
Q
Question 2
In Lab 1 you took data that
allowed you to draw electric
field lines for two parallel
plates and an electric dipole.

For the
F th new case of f a circular
i l
metal shell at + 5V near a metal
plate at 0 V,, which picture
p p
corresponds to the correct
electric field lines: a, b, c, or d?
Q
Question #3. A 4 μμF capacitor
p and an 8 μμF capacitor
p
are connected in series, and then to a 12 Volt
battery. What is the charge in each of the
capacitors?
Q
Question #3. A 4 μμF capacitor
p and an 8 μμF capacitor
p
are connected in series, and then to a 12 Volt battery.
What is the charge in each of the capacitors?

Connected in series, they have the same charge,

which is Voltage
g x Ceq.

Equivalent capacitance (μF): 1/Ceq = 1/4 + 1/8 = 3/8,

so Ceq = 8/3 µF.
µF
Q = 12 V x 8/3 µF = 32 μC
Each capacitor has a charge of 32 μC.
Leftover from Sept. 14. Dielectric materials.
M l
Molecules
l or ions
i iin a material
t i l respondd to
t an external
t l
electric field.
This p
partlyy cancels the electric field from the plates,
p in a
proportion called the dielectric constant, κ (Greek letter
kappa). Ranges from 1.0006 (air) to several hundred (metal
oxides) Tabulated in your book
oxides). book.

Put a dielectric between the p

plates of a capacitor.
p For a
given Q, this reduces E to Evac/κ (and therefore V Æ Vvac/κ).
That increases C (=Q/V) to κCvac.
Conductor: charges are “free” to move. Let them
move,, e.g.
g , along
g a wire.
Current – amount of charge that passes a given point
per unit time.

SI unit of current:
Ampere = Coulomb / second
Usual symbol I.
Question 4:
Car batteries are typically rated in Ampere-hours.
Ampere hours
(Amperes x hours). What does that unit designate?

Answer: Charge. Amp x hour = (Coul / sec) x hour =

3600 Coul.
Question 5:
A piece of copper wire, 1 mm in diameter, is carrying
a current of 1 Ampere. How many electrons pass a
given point on the wire each second?
A piece of copper wire, 1 mm in diameter, is carrying
a current of 1 Ampere. How many electrons pass a
given point on the wire each second?

1 Coulomb/second.
Charge on electron = 1.6x10-19 Coul.,
so 1 Coul.
Coul = 6.25x10
6 25x1018 electrons.
electrons
1 Ampere = 6.25x1018 electrons/second.

That looks like a lot of electrons per second. How

fast are they moving? (Classical view – quantum
mechanics has a different answer.)
answer )
How fast are they moving?

V sua z a c
Visualize clump
ump of electrons.
ctrons.
If they have a “drift” velocity vdrift,
in an amount of time Δt,
they move a distance Δx = vdrift Δt.

Let A be the cross section area of the wire.

The
h numberb of f electrons
l that
h cross a given point on the
h
wire in time Δt is equal to:
# electrons = n ((electrons/volume)) x A x vdrift Δt

electrons/time = # electrons/Δt = n A vdrift

vdrift = (Electrons/time) / (n A)
What is the density of electrons in the copper?
Each Cu atom donates 1 electron to move freely, and the
atomic density of Cu is
8.96 (g/cm3) x (1 mole/63.5 g) x (6x1023 atoms/mole)
nelectrons=8.46x10
8. 6 22 electrons/cm
ctrons/cm3.

Area = πr 2 = 0.00785 cm2 (1 mm diameter)

electrons/sec
v drift =
n (electrons/cm3 ) × A (cm2 )
6.25 × 1018 electrons/sec
=
8.46 × 1022 electrons/cm3 × 0.00785 cm2
= 0.0094 cm/sec
Why does the light come on immediately
when
h you turn on the
h switch?
h
Free to move does not mean unrestricted.
Have to qualify that a conductor may not be perfect
– might allow some small internal electric field.
Charges in a conductor travel at a drift speed which
is generally proportional to the electric field.
Flow of current through a conductor.
Random
R d motion
i of f electrons,
l with
i haddrift
if speeddd due to
applied electric field. (Mosquitoes in the wind.)

Density of carriers is essentially constant – higher E

increases drift velocity.
y (pre-Quantum
p mechanics view.)
Wire remains electrically neutral even as current flows.
 Analogy of the
flow of water E
from higher to
lower points – +
flow of electrical
current from Higher vs.
higher to lower Lower potential
potential
BUT. Generally the mobile charges in a solid are
electrons Convention of + or – charge was established
electrons.
before their discovery. Electrons have negative
charge, their motion is opposite the direction of
current.
t
V more positive V more negative
motion of - -
E
electrons - - -
We will start to look at electrical circuits.
Describe them with two parameters that are easy to
measure: Voltage and Current.

Light bulb connected to a battery, with provision to

measure the
h current flowing
fl through
h h the
h bulb,
l and d the
h
voltage difference across the bulb.
The voltmeter measures potential difference between its
two leads. An ideal voltmeter is p
passive – no current flows
through it. (Real voltmeters are close to that ideal.)

Current flows through

g the ammeter.
Assuming that no current flows through the voltmeter, the
ammeter registers the current flowing through the bulb.

Another idealization is that the wires are equipotentials:

there is no voltage difference between two points on a wire.
 Current can flow other places besides a wire.
Smoke
S k ddetector contains
i a smallll amount off radioactive
di i
Am which ionizes some of the air and provides a
conducting
g path.
p Ions tends to stick to particles
p of
smoke, which interrupt the current.
E

Radioactive 241Am

Another example is electroplating (HW problem)

Conductor – charges can move, but we impose an
electric
l t i fi ld E. (With
field (Withoutt externally
t ll imposed
i d
agency, E would disappear very rapidly.

For many materials, the current density is

proportional to the electric field.
field
 Ohm’s law (empirical). True for many materials.
Apply
A l a potential
i l difference
diff V along
l a conductor,
d and
d
a current I will flow in proportion.
V (Voltts) →

G. Ohm (1789-1854)

I (Amperes) → Units of R = Volt/Amp

= Ohm
Oh
Frequently written Ω.
Question 6:
Oh is
Ohm i defined
d fi d as Volt/Ampere.
V lt/A What
Wh t is
i an Ohm
Oh iin tterms
of the SI base units (kg, m, s, C)?
Question 6:
Oh is
Ohm i defined
d fi d as Volt/Ampere.
V lt/A What
Wh t is
i an Ohm
Oh iin tterms
of the SI base units (kg, m, s, C)?

Ohm = Volt / Amp

= J/C / C/s = Js/C2 = kg m2 / (s C2)
Resistance = Voltage difference / Current = ΔV / I,
How is resistance related to intrinsic property of
material?
L t ρ (Greek
Let (G k lletter
tt rho)
h ) be
b a
property of the material –
resistivity.
y Measured in Ohm
meter.
Double A – double I for
m ΔV – halve resistance
same

Double ℓ – double ΔV for

same I, double resistance.
resistance

Evidently the resistance of the wire R = ρ ℓ / A

(From SV8)
Question 7:
E h wire
Each i in i the
th power cord d of
f a toaster
t t iis made
d of
f
copper ( ρ = 1.7x10-8 Ω⋅m) and is 2 m long, with a
diameter of 1 mm. What is the resistance of each wire?
Question 7:
E h wire
Each i ini the
th power cord d of
f a toaster
t t iis made
d of f
copper (ρ = 1.7x10-8 Ω⋅m) and is 2 m long, with a diameter
of 1 mm. What is the resistance of each wire?
R = ρA / A
1 7 × 10 −8 Ωm × 2 m
1.7
= = 0.04 Ω
π × (0.0005 m) 2

Question 8:
The heating element in a toaster is made of nichrome
wire (ρ = 1.5x10-6 Ω⋅m). It is 4 m long, and has a
resistance of 25Ω. What is its diameter?
 Question 8:
Th h
The heating
ti element
l t iin a ttoaster
t iis made
d off nichrome
i h
wire (ρ = 1.5x10-6 Ω⋅m). It is 4 m long, and has a
resistance of 25Ω. What is its diameter?
A = ρA / R
1 5 × 10 −6 Ωm × 4 m
1.5
A= = 2.4 × 10 −7 m2
25 Ω
A = π r 2 , so r = 2.4
2 4 × 10 −7 m2 / π = 2.76
2 76 × 10 −4 m
diameter = 2 x radius = 0.55 mm.
I made a mistake in preparing this for the lecture, so
none of the offered answers was correct. I gave credit
for every answer submitted.
submitted